The Garland United Methodist Church chose to close its doors after Pastor Floyd had served the church for 7-1/2 years. During that time a small service was started at a local senior apartment complex - that service, now named "Worship at the Gardens", continues.
Pastor Floyd, ordained in 2005 by the Wesleyan Church, recognizes that he is still a growing child of God in need of God's grace. The focus of his ministry is bringing God's love and forgiveness to a broken world.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

God Made Us!

God Made Us!

Intro.: Who made it?

We will start with a test – who made these items?

Paper?

Key Chain?

CD?

I don't know either – so it was sort of an unfair question.

But we do know who made this world in which we live.

I want to take that thought one step further today.

Read: Genesis 1:26-2:25

Pray

Trans: Last week we spoke about creation in general

Today we continue our study – but our focus will be the creation of man.

Want to ask three questions:

Who created Man?

How was man created?

Why was man created?

T.S.

Who Created Man - God

Seams like a simple answer –

God created everything

That also includes man

(Ill.) I used to be (well, I still am) a fan of superman. Now the story of superman is that he was not created – he came to earth from another planet. Sent here by his parents as his home world exploded.

There are those who might argue that life here on earth, including man, got started in a similar way – aliens brought life with them to our planet.
But there is a gatcha – Superman is fiction – totally fiction. Our world is not.

More importantly, creation includes you

Take a minute to look at your hands – God designed that hand, God designed it to do the things he needed done.

Theologians have a word for how God created our worldd – they tell us that God created “ex nihilo” which is Latin for “out of nothing.” God spoke and the world was created.

But listen again to the words describing man, “... the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

Similarly with Eve - “So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.”

God took the dust of the earth, God took Adam's rib, and created man and woman in His image.

When we die, the funeral service includes the words, “we therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust” - our bodies may return to the earth. But we have the opportunity to spend eternity with God.

Why Did God Create Man

We have asked the question “Who created man?”

We have asked the question “How did God create man?”

But this question, “Why did God create man?”

(Ill.) There is an old Jewish legend that will remind us of God's plans for creation. When God was about to create man, He took into His counsel the angels that stood about his throne. “Create him not,” said the angel of Justice, “for if Thou dost he will commit all kinds of wickedness against his fellow men; he will be hard and cruel and dishonest and unrighteous.” “Create him not,” said the angel of Truth, “for he will be false and deceitful to his brother-man, and even to Thee.” “Create him not,” said the angel of Holiness, “he will follow that which is impure in Thy sight, and dishonor Thee to thy face.”

Then stepped forward the angel of Mercy (God’s best beloved) and said: “Create him, our Heavenly Father for when he sins and turns from the path of right and truth and holiness I will take him tenderly by the hand, and speak loving words to him, and then lead him back to Thee.”i

(Appl.) We are created as God's image – we can think, we understand right and wrong, we can grow and learn about our world. But more importantly, we stand to represent God's existence.

(Ill.) At one point, a King would place statues of himself in the fare reaches of his kingdom. Not just to make a point of his power, to represent himself to the people who comprised his kingdom. They stood in for him – till he was actually in their presence. That is part of the role we play – we represent Christ to our broken world. We are His witnesses, we stand as a testimony to His grace and forgiveness and care.

Genesis also it clear that part of the task God has given to us to care for his creation.

But caring for it means being responsible for it.

I never connected my faith with being ecologically aware – I cannot neglect God's creation, if part of my job is to care for it.